Morgan Stanley Cuts EquityZen Fees 50% to 2.5% After Acquisition

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management announced a sizeable price reduction on its newly acquired private shares platform, EquityZen, cutting transaction fees 50% to 2.5% from 5% for investors and selling shareholders.

The move comes just weeks after Morgan Stanley finalized its acquisition of the platform in January 2026. Leveraging the firm’s massive scale, the platform is immediately reducing standard buy-and-sell side fees to 2.5%, down from the previous 5% benchmark.

By integrating EquityZen’s marketplace technology into Morgan Stanley’s private markets ecosystem, the firm aims to lower the barrier to entry to private markets, further democratizing access to alternatives, and create a seamless environment for private equity trading. The firm intends to bridge the gap between high demand for private shares and the supply generated through its institutional relationships and cap table management services.

“The strategic acquisition of EquityZen was about bringing a comprehensive end-to-end solution to our clients,” said Jed Finn, head of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. “Bringing down fees allows more clients to transact and build wealth in a frictionless, holistic way.”

Finn noted that the strategy is anchored in an “issuer-first” operating principle, combining Morgan Stanley’s institutional reach with EquityZen’s digital marketplace.

The fee reduction applies across the board, including EquityZen’s “express deals,” which allow investors to sell existing fund interests to other users on the platform. Despite the lower transaction costs, EquityZen will maintain its $5,000 minimum investment, continuing its mission to broaden access to pre-IPO companies.

Atish Davda, founder of EquityZen, highlighted the impact of the partnership.

“As we join forces with Morgan Stanley, we gain the full backing of a financial powerhouse –  leveraging its scale and expertise to raise the bar for the industry and create a world-class experience for EquityZen clients and shareholders,” said Davda.

Now a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, the EquityZen platform has completed more than 51,000 private placements in nearly 500 companies, serving a user base of approximately 800,000.

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management provides brokerage, advisory, and wealth planning services across 42 countries.

In another move to simplify access to alternative investments, BlackRock and Partners Group recently launched a multi-alternatives separately managed account, or SMA, solution for wealth platforms. The new offering – designed to bundle historically fragmented private market strategies into a single, scalable account – is available to advisers on the Morgan Stanley wealth platform.

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